
LESSON 4 October 16-22
4.THE ENDi•TIME CHURCH
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come,
and the glory of the Lord is risen upon
thee. For, behold, the darkness shall
cover the earth, and gross darkness
the people: but the Lord shall arise
upon thee, and his glory shall be seen
upon thee" (Isa. 60:1, 2).
This ringing appeal to the ancient
Hebrews to prepare the world for the
first advent of Christ is likewise
applicable to God's people living in
the time of the end. (See
Prophets and
Kings,
pp. 717, 718.) The moral
darkness grows increasingly deeper as
the end approaches. In such a
sli
condition the Christian may shine
even more effectively.
The New Testament views the
hurch in the time of the end from
different angles. This week's study will
survey these perspectives. Jesus
challenged the end-time church to be
a watching church. He save the
parables of the ten virgins and the
talents to show how the church should
be prepared for His coming, and
actively engaged in His service
according to the several abilities of its
members.
In His messages to the seven
churches in Revelation 2 and 3 Jesus
appealed to His end-time church to
repent of its sins and to arouse from its
lethargy. Finally, John was shown in
the visions on Patmos the worldwide
movement of the end-ti me chu rch as it
would herald the everlasting gospel.
John saw the earth lightened with
s iritual glory as the church gave
G
od's last invitation of grace.
"The church is God's appointed
agency for the salvation of men. It was
organized for service, and its mission
is to carry the gospel to the world.
From the beginning it has been God's
plan that through His church shall be
reflected to the world His fullness and
His sufficiency. The members of the
church, those whom He has called out
of darkness into His marvelous light,
are to show forth His glory. The church
is the repository of the riches of the
grace of Christ; and through the
church will eventually be made
manifest, even to 'the principalities
and powers in heavenly places,' the
final and full display of the love of
God. Ephesians 3:10."
"Through centuries of persecution,
conflict, and darkness, God has
sustained His church. Not one cloud
has fallen upon it that He has not
prepared for; not one opposing force
has risen to counterwork His work,
that He has not foreseen. All has taken
place as He predicted. He has not left
His church forsaken, but has traced in
prophetic declarations what would
occur, and that which His Spirit
inspired the prophets to foretell has
been brought about. All His purposes
will be fulfilled. His law is linked with
His throne, and no power of evil can
destroy it. Truth is inspired and
guarded by God; and it will triumph
over all opposition."—The
Acts of the
Apostles,
pp. 9, 11, 12.
DAILY
HIGHLIGHTS
1.
A Call to Vigilance
(Matt. 24:42, 44)
2.
Preparedness Illustrated—I
(Matt. 25:1)
3.
Preparedness Illustrated—II
(Matt. 25:4, 6, 10)
4.
A Call for Every-member
Participation (Matt. 25:14, 15)
5.
A Call to Repentance
(Rev. 3:14, 15, 19)
6.
The Church's End-time Message
(Rev. 14:6-14)